This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, click the "Reprints" link at the bottom of any article.

October 30, 2013

Ameriprise Doubles Profits on Higher Sales, Assets in Q3

The wealth management unit also brought back actor Tommy Lee Jones for its advertising

CEO Jim Cracchiolo of Ameriprise.

Ameriprise Financial (AMP) said late Tuesday that its net income was $381 million, or $1.86 per share, in the third quarter vs. $174 million, or $0.79 per share, a year ago.

“We had an excellent quarter with strong growth in revenue and record operating earnings,” said Chairman and CEO Jim Cracchiolo, in an earnings release.“We are building on the momentum we’ve experienced throughout the year; wealth management is producing strong results and assets under management are up across the firm.”

Also recently, the company relaunched its advertising campaign that features actor Tommy Lee Jones, who stresses the firm’s reputation of strength and stability, according to Ameriprise.

"In terms of our brand and advertising, we're working with Tommy Lee Jones again, because we like the way he conveys our story and consumers and advisors have responded well," Cracchiolo said during a conference call with equity analysts. "We're currently filming new ads that you'll see early next year."

He added that external research shows "Ameriprise is one of the most trusted financial firms in the industry."

Wealth Results

Advice & Wealth Management saw its client assets grew 13% year over year to $389 billion, while total wrap assets increased 19% to $144 billion.

The advice and wealth management unit had $3.02 billion of flows in the most recent period, down slightly from $3.12 billion in the previous quarter but up sharply from $2.06 billion a year ago.

Its advisors finalized $55 million worth of financial plans in the third quarter vs. $61 million in the prior quarter and $49 million in the year-ago period.

“Experienced advisor recruiting remained strong, with 86 experienced advisors moving their practices to Ameriprise during the quarter, and the recruiting pipeline remains solid,” the company said in its earnings release.

The headcount for Ameriprise’s financial advisors was 9,761, down from 9,788 in the second quarter and 9,815 a year ago. About three-fourths of the reps are franchisees, while the rest are employee advisors. The average retention rate is about 95% and 91% for these two groups, respectively.

Average revenue per advisor was $110,000 in the third quarter, up from $98,000 a year ago. For the first nine months of 2013, advisors are collecting an average $293,000 in fees and commissions.

“Advisor productivity continues to improve with good uptake in key initiatives to support advisors, including the new brokerage technology platform and the adoption of the company’s ‘Confident Retirement’ approach,” according to Ameriprise.